1948<\/strong>Military abolished<\/td>| 77<\/strong>Years of peace<\/td> | 25%<\/strong>Territory protected<\/td> | 98%<\/strong>Renewable energy<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n | Why does Costa Rica have no military? \u2014 The story<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [INTERN: IMAGE 2 here \u2014 Museo Nacional de Costa Rica (former Cuartel Bellavista)]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn’t a long peace process. It was a decision \u2014 made at the end of a short civil war, by a man who could have ruled by force and chose instead to open his hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In March 1948, a brief but bloody civil war broke out in Costa Rica, triggered by the annulment of a presidential election won by Otilio Ulate Blanco. Jos\u00e9 Figueres Ferrer \u2014 farmer, intellectual, visionary \u2014 led the opposition and prevailed in 44 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As victor, he could have had everything. He chose the opposite. On 1 December 1948, he gathered students, diplomats and public figures at the Cuartel Bellavista and drove a hammer into a wall. Symbolically. Unambiguously. Irreversibly.<\/p>\n\n\n Decreto N\u00b0 749 formally dissolved the military. The 1949 Constitution enshrined the decision in Article 12: “The military as a permanent institution is prohibited.” The Cuartel Bellavista was handed to the Ministry of Education \u2014 and is today the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What Costa Rica did with the money \u2014 instead of weapons<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Education became the national priority. By the early 1950s, Costa Rica already had more schools than barracks. Today the literacy rate exceeds 97%. The school system is public, free and compulsory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The healthcare system built around the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social became one of the most advanced in Central America. By the 1970s, Costa Rica’s life expectancy was comparable to developed nations. Without a military. With the freed-up budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1949, the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones was established \u2014 an independent electoral authority that still guarantees Costa Rica’s reputation as a stable democracy today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Costa Rica and environmental protection \u2014 an equally bold story<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1969, Costa Rica passed its first Ley Forestal \u2014 the Forestry Law, one of the first in Latin America. It created the legal foundation for the national parks system. Today, over 25% of the national territory is under official protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1995, the Ley Org\u00e1nica del Ambiente \u2014 a comprehensive environmental framework law \u2014 permanently anchored biodiversity protection and ecological responsibility. In 1994, the right to a healthy environment was incorporated into the Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On just 0.03% of the Earth’s land surface, Costa Rica is home to around 6% of global biodiversity. Over 53% of the territory is covered by forest. 98% of electricity comes from renewable sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is Costa Rica a safe travel destination? \u2014 The honest answer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Costa Rica has not been involved in any armed conflict for more than 75 years. It has no active territorial disputes, no paramilitary groups, no political instability. Democracy works \u2014 uninterrupted since 1949, with free and uncontested elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like any society, Costa Rica has its challenges: crime in certain neighbourhoods of San Jos\u00e9, petty theft as in any tourist country. But structural violence, military risks or political unrest \u2014 these are not part of the Costa Rican reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What all of this has to do with your trip<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When you travel to Costa Rica, you enter a country that has invested for generations in education rather than weapons. The nature that overwhelms you is protected by laws older than many European environmental laws. You feel it \u2014 not as abstraction, but as a concrete sense that something here is right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Swiss Tropical Tourism was founded by the D\u00e4hler family \u2014 Swiss roots, Costa Rican home for decades. They know the history of this country from the inside. And they share it, when someone is willing to listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Costa Rica and Switzerland \u2014 more in common than you might think<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Switzerland has been neutral for centuries. Costa Rica has been without a military since 1948. Both decided that security doesn’t come from weapons, but from stability, institutions and prosperity. Both are small, both are green, and both exert a disproportionate global influence on democracy, sustainability and peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The D\u00e4hler family \u2014 Swiss roots, Costa Rican home \u2014 embodies this connection better than anyone. When Swiss Tropical Tourism organises a trip, it isn’t a tourist transaction. It’s an invitation to understand a country that deserves to be understood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frequently asked questions \u2014 Costa Rica, peace and safe travel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2753 Why does Costa Rica have no military?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Costa Rica abolished its military on 1 December 1948, through a decision by President Jos\u00e9 Figueres Ferrer following the short civil war. He chose to invest the freed resources in education, healthcare and social development. In 1949, the prohibition of a permanent military was enshrined in Article 12 of the new Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2753 When was the military abolished in Costa Rica?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The official dissolution took place on 1 December 1948 through Decreto N\u00b0 749. The symbolic moment was marked by President Figueres striking a wall of the Cuartel Bellavista (now Museo Nacional) with a hammer. The 1949 Constitution made the abolition permanent and constitutionally binding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2753 Is Costa Rica a safe travel destination for tourists?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes. Costa Rica is one of the most stable and safest countries in Latin America. It has not been involved in any armed conflict for more than 75 years, has a functioning democracy and is free from military risks or political instability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2753 What pioneering environmental laws has Costa Rica passed?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Costa Rica passed its first Ley Forestal (Forestry Law) in 1969, among the first in Latin America. In 1994, the right to a healthy environment was incorporated into the Constitution. In 1995, the Ley Org\u00e1nica del Ambiente followed. Today, over 25% of the national territory is under official protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2753 What percentage of electricity in Costa Rica comes from renewable sources?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Around 98% of Costa Rica’s electricity comes from renewable sources \u2014 primarily hydropower, wind, geothermal and solar. The country has several times powered its entire annual consumption at 100% renewable energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2753 Why is Costa Rica an aspirational destination for Swiss travellers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Costa Rica and Switzerland share fundamental values: neutrality, stability, investment in people rather than armaments, nature protection and democratic institutions. Swiss Tropical Tourism, founded by the D\u00e4hler family who have lived in Costa Rica for decades, offers direct, authentic access to this country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 1 December 1948. One man with a hammer. And a decision no country had ever made before. In a world that had just lived through the Second World War and where every nation was arming itself, a small Central American country did the opposite: it abolished its military. Not because of military defeat. Not under…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[188],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-costa-rica","th-blog blog-single has-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"\n |
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